§ Mr. BlunkettTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what account her Department has taken when issuing the results of national tests of those children who were re-assessed for national tests at 11 years old, having initially failed them; if these children were counted more than once in the results released to date; and what estimate she has made of the number of pupils who have been doubled counted. [15372]
§ Mr. PaiceThe aim of statutory assessment is to assess pupils' achievement against national curriculum levels. The standards at level 4 have been set to challenge typical 11-years-olds, but it is incorrect to suggest that pupils either pass or fail the tests.
The collection procedures in 1995 were designed to give accurate national results while minimising schools' compliance costs. Schools were asked to indicate whether pupils were to be entered for tasks as well as tests in maths and science, but not all did so. Any double counting in the national results for those subjects is estimated to be small, at around 1 per cent.
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